But we're making no such predictions - it's been a strange day at the polls - many suspect there's been a low turnout, and The Huffington Post UK has heard widespread reports of tactical voting.

Voters backing a candidate they don't expect to win on first preference comes forth in several flavours, and with a strong health warning - it's only anecdotal.

However if it turns out to be widespread it could lead to strong showings for UKIP and the Green party, and perhaps exceptionally so for the independent candidate Siobhan Benita.

Although she's never claimed to be, Benita appears to have become something of a conduit for Labour supporters who've signed up to the "Not Ken Again" mantra. She can be expected to do well if lots of disillusioned Labour voters decide to send a message to the party - that they allowed the wrong candidate to stand and made a mess of the selection process.

Many think Ken was picked to stand too soon - the contest happened in autumn 2010 at the same time as Ed Miliband's leadership election. Not enough time was given, some say, for the party to regroup and work out what it wanted to stand for in this election. The result was that Ken's formidable internal party machine steamrollered over any other contenders.

One die-hard Labour supporter - who happily voted for Labour candidates in the assembly elections - told The Huffington Post UK they'd voted for Benita first but made no second preference.

They said they really hoped would Ken do badly. Similar anecdotes have been heard elsewhere and gleefully tweeted by Tories.

On the Tory side, there seems to have been a few people who decided to vote UKIP or for the Greens first, with Boris their second preference.

This seemingly has nothing to do with Boris and everything to do with attempting to push Brian Paddick and the Lib Dems into fourth place. Or even fifth.

Again these are either Tory party workers or loyal supporters - but as The Huffington Post UK has heard this sort of tactical voting among Tories from several unconnected sources, it's not beyond the realms of conspiracy theory to suggest some kind of orchestrated campaign took place here. "It's all about making the Lib Dems look stupid," one Westminster based staffer told The Huffington Post UK earlier.

Will any of this affect the final result? That's impossible to say, and we're in for a long wait before we know the answer. Counting of votes in London won't begin until 8:45am on Friday, and it'll take most of the day to get a sense of what's going on. Most expect second preference votes to tip the election one way or the other.

In the meantime here's the liveblog of the day so far - check back to The Huffington Post UK all day tomorrow for rolling coverage as the results come in - we'll be at City Hall near Tower Bridge with the latest all day.

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Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha leave the polling station at Methodist Central Hall, Westminster, London, after voting in the mayoral and council elections.

SNP Deputy Leader Nicola Sturgeon casts her vote at Broomhouse Halls polling station in Glasgow, as Scots go to the polls today to elect their local councillors.

Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont at Berryknowe Resource Centre polling station in Glasgow, as Scots go to the polls today to elect their local councillors.

SNP Deputy Leader Nicola Sturgeon arrives to cast her vote at Broomhouse Halls polling station in Glasgow, as Scots go to the polls today to elect their local councillors.

A voter arrives at Berryknowe Resource Centre polling station in Glasgow, as Scots go to the polls today to elect their local councillors.

Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont (left) and local candidate Alistair Watson (right) at Berryknowe Resource Centre polling station in Glasgow, as Scots go to the polls today to elect their local councillors.

Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha leave the polling station at Methodist Central Hall, Westminster, London, after voting in the mayoral and council elections.

Ken Livingstone and his wife Emma arrive at their local polling station in north London with their son Tom, to cast their votes in the mayoral and council elections.

Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha arrive at the polling station in Methodist Central Hall, Westminster, London, before voting in the mayoral and council elections.

Ken Livingstone and his wife Emma leave their local polling station in north London with their dog Coco and children Mia and Tom after voting in the mayoral and council elections.

Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha leave the polling station at Methodist Central Hall, Westminster, London, after voting in the mayoral and council elections.

Ken Livingstone and his wife Emma leave their local polling station in north London with their dog Coco after voting in the mayoral and council elections.

Ken Livingstone and his wife Emma leave their local polling station in north London after voting in mayoral and council elections.

Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha leave the polling station at Methodist Central Hall, Westminster, London, after voting in the mayoral and council elections.

Ken Livingstone and his wife Emma leave their local polling station in north London after voting in mayoral and council elections.

Ken Livingstone and his wife Emma leave their local polling station in north London after voting in the mayoral and council elections.

Labour leader Ed Miliband and his wife Justine arrive at their local polling station in north London to vote in the mayoral and council elections.

Labour leader Ed Miliband and his wife Justine leave their local polling station in north London after voting in the mayoral and council elections.

Labour leader Ed Miliband and wife Justine arrive at their local polling station in Highgate, north London, to vote in the elections for the Mayor of London and the London Assembly.

Labour leader Ed Miliband and wife Justine arrive at their local polling station in Highgate, north London, to vote in the elections for the Mayor of London and the London Assembly.

Ballot boxes are sent out to polling stations around Edinburgh from the council headquarters ahead of the local elections tomorrow.

A voter arrives to cast a vote at Broomhouse Halls polling station in Glasgow, as Scots go to the polls today to elect their local councillors.

A voter arrives to cast a vote at Broomhouse Halls polling station in Glasgow, as Scots go to the polls today to elect their local councillors.

Ballot boxes are sent out to polling stations around Edinburgh from the council headquarters ahead of the local elections tomorrow.

Ballot boxes are sent out to polling stations around Edinburgh from the council headquarters ahead of the local elections tomorrow.

Boris Johnson and his wife Marina Wheeler leave their local polling station in London after voting in the mayoral and council elections.

Boris Johnson and his wife Marina Wheeler arrive at their local polling station in London to vote in the mayoral and council elections.

Boris Johnson and his wife Marina Wheeler leave their local polling station in London after voting in the mayoral and council elections.

Deputy Prime Minister and Liberal Democrat Party leader Nick Clegg arrives to cast his vote in the local elections at the Park Hill community centre in his constituency in Stannington in Sheffield.

Deputy Prime Minister and Liberal Democrat Party leader Nick Clegg arrives to cast his vote in the local elections at the Park Hill community centre in his constituency in Stannington in Sheffield.

A man watches the vote count status on screens inside City Hall in London as results are tallied in the London Mayoral and local elections on May 4, 2012. Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative Party took a bashing Friday in mid-term local elections, capping a bad month for the government after Britain slid back into recession. However, early vote indications showed Conservative Boris Johnson may hold on to the mayor's job in London in the year of the 2012 Olympics. AFP PHOTO / LEON NEAL (Photo credit should read LEON NEAL/AFP/GettyImages)

Two men watch the vote count status on screens inside City Hall as results are tallied in the London Mayoral and local elections on May 4, 2012. Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative Party took a bashing Friday in mid-term local elections, capping a bad month for the government after Britain slid back into recession. However, early vote indications showed Conservative Boris Johnson may hold on to the mayor's job in London in the year of the 2012 Olympics. AFP PHOTO / LEON NEAL (Photo credit should read LEON NEAL/AFP/GettyImages)

Labour leader Ed Miliband in Victoria Square, Birmingham, after Labour made significant gains in the mid-term local elections.

Labour leader Ed Miliband in Victoria Square, Birmingham, after Labour made significant gains in the mid-term local elections.

Edinburgh City Council votes are counted at the Meadowbank stadium, Edinburgh.

Edinburgh City Council votes are counted at the Meadowbank stadium, Edinburgh.

(From left to right) First Minister Carwyn Jones, Cardiff Council leader Heather Joyce and Shadow Wales Secretary Peter Hain celebrate the party's local government election win in the Welsh capital in Queen Street, Cardiff.

Respect Party leader George Galloway at the party's Bradford HQ after they won five seats on the Bradford Council, including that of the Labour leader.

Respect Party leader George Galloway with supporters at the party's Bradford HQ after they won five seats on the Bradford Council, including that of the Labour leader.

Scottish Labour Leader Johann Lamont (right), MP Margaret Curran (left) and Labour leader Gordon Matheson at the SECC in Glasgow, as votes are counted in the Glasgow City Council elections.

Scottish Labour Leader Johann Lamont (left) and Labour leader Gordon Matheson at the SECC in Glasgow as votes are counted in the Glasgow City Council elections.

Scottish Labour Leader Johann Lamont at the SECC in Glasgow as votes are counted in the Glasgow City Council elections.

SNP Leader Allison Hunter (left) and Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon (right) at the SECC in Glasgow as votes are counted in the Glasgow City Council elections.

Leader of the Scottish Conservatives Ruth Davidson (left) with David Meikle at the SECC in Glasgow as votes are counted in the Glasgow City Council elections.

We have results in from 13 of the 14 constituencies in the Mayor of London and London Assembly election.
The final constituency is Brent & Harrow. The Greater London Returning Officer has been in touch with the CRO for Brent & Harrow to establish the reason for a delay.
All batches of ballot papers were registered and scanned. Two batches went to storage without some ballot papers being manually entered as required. Manual entry is required when a scanner cannot read a ballot paper – for example if a ballot paper is damaged. It is not an issue with the scanners.
The issue was identified during the verification stage. These two batches are being re-processed. To make this happen as quickly as possible we have separated out into several smaller batches. This is why the progress screens appear to show a changing number of verified ballot papers.

We will declare as soon as possible but it is obviously important that every vote is counted.

Ed Miliband, speaking in Southampton, has declared that Labour is "coming back".

This comes after Labour took control of Southampton from the Conservatives.

He railed against the "out of touch government in Westminster".

"David Cameron promised change, not for the better but for the worse. Today in Southampton, it is a rejection of the economic failure of this government, and the unfairness of this government". he added

He also boasted that Labour is "beating back" the SNP in Scotland.

He recognised the low turnouts, saying it showed there was "still more to do".

Clearly annoyed, Farage has arrived at City Hall and says that the ballot paper fail was UKIP's fault, not London Elects. But he's blaming it on UKIP's poor performance. They're currently trailing in 6th place behind Siobhan Benita